Font Size
Matthew 16
International Children’s Bible
Matthew 16
International Children’s Bible
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to trap him. So they asked him to show them a miracle to prove that he was from God.
2 Jesus answered,[a] “When you see the sunset, you know what the weather will be. If the sky is red, then you say we will have good weather. 3 And in the morning if the sky is dark and red, then you say that it will be a rainy day. You see these signs in the sky, and you know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that are happening now. But you don’t know their meaning. 4 Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign. But they will have no sign—only the sign of Jonah.”[b] Then Jesus left them and went away.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings
5 Jesus and his followers went across the lake. But the followers forgot to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
7 The followers discussed the meaning of this. They said, “Did Jesus say this because we forgot to bring bread?”
8 Jesus knew that they were talking about this. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. 9 You still don’t understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the 5,000 people? And remember that you filled many baskets with bread after the people finished eating? 10 And remember the seven loaves of bread that fed the 4,000 people? Remember that you filled many baskets then also? 11 So I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to be careful and guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 12 Then the followers understood what Jesus meant. He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread. He was telling them to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ
13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “I am the Son of Man. Who do the people say I am?”
14 They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah. And others say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. 18 So I tell you, you are Peter.[c] And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death will not be able to defeat my church. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow. The things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” 20 Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus Says That He Must Die
21 From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told them that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.
22 Peter took Jesus aside and began to criticize him. Peter said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”
23 Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan![d] You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God. You care only about things that men think are important.”
24 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say ‘no’ to the things he wants. He must be willing even to die on a cross, and he must follow me. 25 Whoever wants to save his life will give up true life. And whoever gives up his life for me will have true life. 26 It is worth nothing for a man to have the whole world if he loses his soul. He could never pay enough to buy back his soul. 27 The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward everyone for what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth. There are some people standing here who, before they die, will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”
Footnotes
- 16:2 answered Some Greek copies do not have the rest of verse 2 and verse 3.
- 16:4 sign of Jonah Jonah’s three days in the big fish are like Jesus’ three days in the tomb. The story about Jonah is in the book of Jonah.
- 16:18 Peter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.”
- 16:23 Satan Name for the devil, meaning “the enemy.” Jesus means that Peter was talking like Satan.
Matthew 16
1599 Geneva Bible
Matthew 16
1599 Geneva Bible
16 1 The sign of Jonah. 6 The leaven of the Pharisees, 12 for their doctrine. 13 The people’s opinion of Christ. 17 Faith cometh of God. 18 The rock. 19 The keys. 21 Christ foreshadoweth his death. 24 The forsaking of ourself, and the cross. 25 To lose the life.
1 Then (A)[a]came the Pharisees and Sadducees, and did [b]tempt him, desiring him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 But he answered, and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, Fair weather, for the sky is red.
3 (B)And in the morning, ye say, Today shall be a tempest: for the sky is red and lowering. O hypocrites, ye can discern the [c]face of the sky, and can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4 (C)The wicked generation, and adulterous seeketh a sign, but there shall no sign be given it, but [d]that sign of the Prophet (D)Jonah: so he left them, and departed.
5 ¶ [e]And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had (E)forgotten to take bread with them.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have brought no bread.
8 But Jesus [f]knowing it, said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye thus among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 Do ye not yet perceive, neither remember the [g]five loaves, when there were (F)five thousand men, and how many baskets took ye up?
10 Neither the seven loaves when there were (G)four thousand men, and how many baskets took ye up?
11 Why [h]perceive ye not that I [i]said not unto you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?
12 Then understood they that he had not said that they should beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees, and Sadducees.
13 ¶ (H)[j]Now when Jesus came into the coasts of [k]Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?
14 And they said, Some say, [l]John Baptist: and some, Elijah: and others, Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets.
15 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 Then Simon Peter answered, and said, (I)Thou art that Christ, the son of the living God.
17 [m]And Jesus answered, and said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon, the son of Jonah: for [n]flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 [o]And I say also unto thee, that thou art (J)[p]Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church: and the [q]gates of hell shall not overcome it.
19 [r]And I (K) will give unto thee the [s]keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt [t]bind upon earth, shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
20 [u]Then he charged his disciples, that they should tell no man that he was Jesus that Christ.
21 ¶ [v]From that time forth Jesus began to show unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the [w]Elders, and of the high Priests, and Scribes, and be slain and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter [x]took him aside, and began to rebuke him, saying, Master, pity thyself: this shall not be unto thee.
23 [y]Then he turned back, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, [z]Satan: thou art an offence unto me, because thou [aa]understandest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.
24 [ab]Jesus then said to his disciples, (L)If any man will follow me, let him forsake himself: and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For (M)whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall [ac]find it.
26 (N)For what shall it profit a man though he should win the whole world, if he lose his own soul? or what shall a man give for recompense of his soul?
27 For the son of man shall come [ad]in the glory of his Father with his Angels, and (O)then shall he give to every man according to his deeds.
28 (P)Verily I say unto you, there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Son of man come in his [ae]kingdom.
Footnotes
- Matthew 16:1 The wicked which otherwise are at defiance one with another, agree well together against Christ, but do what they can, Christ beareth always the victory, and triumpheth over them.
- Matthew 16:1 To try whether he could do that which they desired, but their purpose was naught, for they thought to find some thing in him by that means whereupon they might have just occasion to reprehend him: or else distrust and curiosity moved them so to do, for by such means also is God said to be tempted, that is to say, provoked to anger, as though men would strive with him.
- Matthew 16:3 The outward show and countenance as it were of all things, is called in the Hebrews’ tongue, a face.
- Matthew 16:4 The article showeth the notableness of the deed.
- Matthew 16:5 False teachers must be taken heed of.
- Matthew 16:8 Not by others, but by virtue of his divinity.
- Matthew 16:9 That five thousand men were filled with so many loaves?
- Matthew 16:11 A demand or question joined with admiration.
- Matthew 16:11 Said, for commanded.
- Matthew 16:13 There are divers judgments and opinions of Christ, notwithstanding he is known of his alone.
- Matthew 16:13 There were two Caesareas, the one called Stratonis upon the sea Mediterranean, which Herod built sumptuously in the honor of Octavius, Josephus, lib. 15. The other was Caesarea Philippi, which Herod the great the Tetrarch’s son by Cleopatra built in the honor of Tiberius at the foot of Lebanon, Josephus, lib. 15.
- Matthew 16:14 As Herod thought.
- Matthew 16:17 Faith is of grace, not of nature.
- Matthew 16:17 By this kind of speech is meant man’s natural procreation upon the earth, the creature not being destroyed which was made, but deformed through sin: So then this is the meaning: this was not revealed to thee by any understanding of man, but God showed it thee from heaven.
- Matthew 16:18 That is true faith, which confesseth Christ, the virtue whereof is invisible.
- Matthew 16:18 Christ spoke in the Syrian tongue, and therefore used not this descanting betwixt Petros, which signifieth Peter, and Petra, which signifieth a rock, but in both places used this word Cephas: but his mind was that wrote in Greek, by the divers termination to make a difference between Peter, who is a piece of the building, and Christ the Petra, that is, the rock and foundation: or else he gave his name Peter, because of the confession of his faith, which is the Church’s as well as his, as the old fathers witness: For so saith Theophylact, That confession which thou hast made, shall be the foundation of the believers.
- Matthew 16:18 The enemies of the Church are compared to a strong kingdom, and therefore by Gates, are meant cities which are made strong with counsels and fortresses, and this is the meaning, whatsoever Satan can do by counsel or strength. So doth Paul, 2 Cor. 10:4, call them strongholds.
- Matthew 16:19 The authority of the Church is from God.
- Matthew 16:19 A metaphor taken of stewards which carry the keys: and here is set forth the power of the ministers of the word, as Isa. 22:22, and that power is common to all ministers, as Matt. 18:18, and therefore the ministers of the Gospel may rightly be called the key of the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 16:19 They are bound whose sins are retained, heaven is shut against them, because they received not Christ by faith: on the other side, how happy are they, to whom heaven is open, which embrace Christ, and are delivered by him, and become fellow heirs with him.
- Matthew 16:20 Men must first learn and then teach.
- Matthew 16:21 The minds of men are in time to be prepared and made ready against the stumbling block of persecution.
- Matthew 16:21 It was a name of dignity and not of age, and it is put for them, which were the Judges, which the Hebrews called Sanhedrin.
- Matthew 16:22 Took him by the hand and led him aside, as they used to do, which meant to talk familiarly with one.
- Matthew 16:23 Against a preposterous zeal.
- Matthew 16:23 The Hebrews call him Satan, that is to say, an adversary, whom the Grecians call diabolos, that is to say, slanderer, or tempter: but it is spoken of them, that either of malice, as Judas, John 6:70, or of lightness and pride resist the will of God.
- Matthew 16:23 By this word we are taught that Peter sinned, through a false persuasion of himself.
- Matthew 16:24 No men provide worse for themselves, than they that love themselves more than God.
- Matthew 16:25 Shall gain himself: And this is his meaning, they that deny Christ to save themselves, do not only not gain that which they look for, but also lose the thing they would have kept, that is themselves, which loss is the greatest of all: but as for them that doubt not to die for Christ, it fareth far otherwise with them.
- Matthew 16:27 Like a King, as Matt. 6:29.
- Matthew 16:28 By his kingdom is understood the glory of his ascension, and what followeth thereof, Eph. 4:10, or the preaching of the Gospel, Mark 9:1.
Matthew 16
New International Version
Matthew 16
New International Version
The Demand for a Sign(A)
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees(B) came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.(C)
2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.[a](D) 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”(E) Jesus then left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”(F)
7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith,(G) why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?(H) 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?(I) 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.(J)
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah(K)
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;(L) others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”(M)
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”(N)
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,(O) but by my Father in heaven.(P) 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b](Q) and on this rock I will build my church,(R) and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys(S) of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.”(T) 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone(U) that he was the Messiah.
Jesus Predicts His Death(V)
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem(W) and suffer many things(X) at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,(Y) and that he must be killed(Z) and on the third day(AA) be raised to life.(AB)
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!(AC) You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.(AD) 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.(AE) 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man(AF) is going to come(AG) in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.(AH)
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 16:3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes … of the times.
- Matthew 16:18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
- Matthew 16:18 That is, the realm of the dead
- Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
- Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
- Matthew 16:25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.